Conventionally, an image pickup apparatus has a function that processes an audio signal. Such an image pickup apparatus generates audio data by processing an audio signal acquired by a microphone arranged in the apparatus and records the audio data together with movie data. With this image pickup apparatus, if wind directly hits the microphone, a turbulent flow is generated on the surface of the microphone. The influence of a pressure variation of the turbulent flow causes a diaphragm of the microphone to irregularly vibrate. Hence, the microphone may record a wind noise.
To address this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-328231 discloses a technique that reduces wind arriving at the microphone from the outside by a sheet-like screen made of polyurethane foam, cloth, or a wire mesh having air permeability, and hence reduces the turbulent flow generated on the surface of the microphone. The use of the material having the air permeability allows a pressure variation of the air (normal audio vibration) that propagates through the air to arrive at the microphone.
The conventional technique uses the sheet having the air permeability to allow the pressure variation of the air (normal audio vibration) that propagates through the air to arrive at the microphone. The wind that arrives at the microphone can be reduced by a certain degree; however, the remaining wind may still cause a turbulent flow to be generated. A noise resulted from the influence of the wind noise is hardly reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an audio processing device that can effectively reduce a wind noise by shielding a microphone from wind to prevent the wind from arriving at the microphone.